Rotary engine.



J. J. TANNER.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 2, 1907.

Patented Mar. 16', 1909.

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' W/INESSES NVVENTOR A TTOHNE YS v rms Nomzls PETERS cn., WASHINGTON, D,c:4

J. J. TANNER. ROTARYv ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 1907. 915,635,'Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

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59mm u Ili'J Ff? WTNESSES J. J. TAN'NER'. ROTARY ENGINE. APPLOATIQNFILED AUG. 2, 1907. 91 5,635. Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

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J J. TANNER.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 1907.

91 5,635. Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

W/TNESSES INVENTOH .JUSEPH JUNIu TANNER M 4 i ATTORNEYS! nl: NaRnLsrrrzks cu. wAsmNcraN. nl c.

.JOSEPH JUN IUS (PANNE-R, QF CLOVER, UTAH.

ROTARY ENGINE.

ivo. 915,635.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March ie, i909.

Application filed ugustZ, 1907. Serial No. 386,744.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it iknown that I, JOSEPH JUNiUs TAN- NER, a citizen 'of theUnited-States, residing at Clover, in the county ofToo'e'le and State ofUtah, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rotary Engines, ofwhich the -following is a specification.

My invention relates to rotary engines of that class in which -arevolving piston Jfixed rigidlyfon a shaft turns inside a cylindricalcase, vand sliding abutments reciprocate in lines parallel to the pistonshaft and are first projected `into the annular space of the cylinder toform temporarily stationary heads, between which and the revolvingpiston live vsteam is admitted, and on the other side of whichabutinents the steam is allowed to escapetto the exhaust, and whichabutments are alternately withdrawn `from the planeofrevoluti'on of theiston so as to side-step out-of the vway of tie same to let the pistonpass.

My invention is designed to v provide `a rot'aryfengine ofthe type whichmay b'e'easily reversed so as'to run in either direction andwhiclncomprehends a lcut-oil ymechanism operative in either directionand which engine also embodies such features of construction asv'toallow'it to be-used as a brake when employed on aflocomotive and goingdownhill. Y

My invention also comprehends certain other new features of constructionandarrangement which willlbe hereinafter more fully described withreference to the drawings, in which- Figure -1 is a side elevationof'theentire engine. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.Fig. 3 is an end elevation, partlyin section, taken from the right lhandVside of Fig. 1. Fig. ll is a longitudinal' section taken `through thecylinder, abutment housings and the hub of the piston. Fig. 5is anenlarged transverse section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. l and lookingin the 'direction of the arrow on said line Fig. 6 is a similartransverse section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. l looking in thedirection of the arrow on said line. Fig. '7 is a detail view ofthepiston, looking at its outer'periphv-eral surface and at rightrangles toits axis. Fig-8 lisa cross'section through the' abutment-'housing'online8;-8 of Fig. 4. Fig. 7.9 is an eiilarge'd sectional view, taken throughy onefof the' valve chests `on liiie- 9 9 of Fig. `2 locking upwardly.:FigfQa is a face view of the Working slide valves and lead valvessuperimposed. Fig. `9" is a face View of the `lead valves detached, andFig. 10 is avdetail of a modified form ofthe cut-oil mechanism.

Referring to Figsl and 2, Fais afbasehaving standards F2 in bearings in`which is arranged the main rotary shaft C having vattached to `it theyband wheel D. A is a stationary cylindrical casing through the heads ofwhich the revolving shaft C passes, at

-which points suitable stuffing boxes are Aproyided. In the cylinder A,see Figs. 5 and 6, isarranged to revolve a rotary piston L rigidlyattached to an enlarged hub portion lli both connected to the main shaftfC. M M are sliding abutments arranged in diametrical relation to eachother and being provided with means by which they are'slid 4in directionparallel-to shaft C, so as to 'beprojectedinto the annular space oi thecylinder and in the p ath ofthe piston or be withdrawn therefrom intohousings'B, Figs. 1 2, l, 8, to allow the piston to pass, saidabutinentshaving what l term'a sidestepping action asthe piston passesthem by. `When .any labutmentis projected into the annular space in thecylinder and steam is `admitted to the space between the` temporarilystationary abutment and the piston,-itwill be seenfthat Y the pressureoi' the steam on said `piston will cause it and the attached-shaft@ torevolve andthe'steam on the advancesideofJthe piston will be exhaustedas hereafter described.y H, Figs. `1 and 2, i's-thevinlet steamrpipefand'I is the exhaust steam pipe. The pipe H is in vertical alinement with alower pipe section H2 and mayv communicate directly with-the upi ersteam chest X or through a semi-circu ar by-pass pipe H', Fig.f5, maycommunicate with the lower steam chestfX. In like manner the exhaustpipel, Fig. 2, isin alinement with alower pipe section I2 which maycommunicate directly with the upper steam chestX or through asemi-circular by-pass pipe l', Fig. 6, may communicate with the lowersteam chest X The inlet'steam pipe H, Fig. 2, has in it thethrottlevalvea anda governor valve b controlled by a centrifugal gcvernor'd' throughaf-small pulley e connectedv by belt f to afpulley g on the main shaft.The exhaust pipe I is provided with a valve h and the two lower pipesections IHZ and I2 have' two `valvcsfc'c withoutlets opening to the airwhich have nothing toLdowith the normal oper-ationl ofthe'engine,` andarefior a purpose which will be hereafter described. f

At an mtermediate point between the pipes I-I and I above and H2 I2below is arranged within a casing J a double acting reversing valve, seeFig. 2, Whose -function is to cause live steam from pipe H to be sent toeither pipe H2 or I2 and exhaust steam from the cylinder to be takenfrom either pipe II2 or I2 and delivered to the outlet pipe I. Thisdouble acting reversing valve consists of a slightly conical boredchamber J containing a rotary conical plug N fitting therein andprovided with a hand wheel J for turning it. In the plug N are twocrossed ports n and n which in the position shown cause live steam frompipe H to enter pipe section I2 while exhaust steam from pipe H2 passesto the outlet pipe I. In the plug N are two other ports o and 0 whichpass diametrically straight through the plug in the plane of the pipes HI above and I2 below. These ports o 'o run in a plane at right angles toln, n and when the plug is given a quarter turn the ports n and n passout of registration with the pipes and o o are brought intoregistration-the pipe o connecting I and I2 and thel pipe o connecting Hand H2. It will now be seen that live steam will pass downwardly throughpipe section H2 and the exhaust will pass up through the pipe sectionI2, which provides for the reversing of the engine as more fullydescribed hereafter in connection with other valves.

For causing the sliding abutments to move alternately into the cylinderand then retreat into their housings or pockets B, said abutments, seeFig. 2, have slide rods j passing through stuffing boxes in the ends ofthe housings and through guides in the trames G which are iixed andstationary with the main frame. The outer ends of these rods j bearfriction rollers y" which enter a waved cam groove i, Fig. l, formed ina hub E rigidly Fixed to the main shaft, so that as this hub is rotatedwith the main shaft the cam groove acting upon the rollers of theabutment rods cause said abutments to be projected, in proper timerelation to the piston, to cause said abutments to alternately formsteam heads and then side-step out ot the way, as already described. Itwill be understood that in laying odn the cam groove i its particularconiiguration is to be accurately determined to correspond to the timeaction required for the abutments. In order to hold these abutmentsagainst the steam pressure in the cylinder the outer edges of theabutments, see Figs. 4, 5 and 6, slide in grooves g2 cut across theinner periphery of the cylinder between the ports of the steam chestsand the ends are received into radial grooves g3, Fig. 4, in thecylinder head. The inner edge of each abutment is also grooved andprovided with a steel packing strip m forced toward the hub by a backingspring m2. At the ends oi the packing strip next to the hub K are formedinwardlyprojecting hardened steel Ylugs lm m and in the heads of thecylinder in line with the abutments are formed locking seats :t a; andwhen an abutment M is forced fully into the cylinder, so that its outeredge is held in groove g2 and its end in groove g3, its inner edgeparallel to the hub is also locked against the pressure of the steam asfollows. W hen the lugs m m reach the seats a; a: they drop into suchseats from the action of spring m2 thereby holding the lower edgeagainst the pressure of the steam and the saine movement of packingstrip m as it approaches the center ot' hub II causes the middle part ofsaid packing strip to drop to a close steam fit on the hub, so as totightly imprison the steam between the abutment and piston. When theabutments are withdrawn into their housings, the outward pull of theirrods j causes the lugs m/ m to ride up out oi' the locking seats x x,and to facilitate this one side of each of the lugs m is made inclined.At each end of the hub K there is a spring seated packing strip n, Fig.4, arranged in line with the grooves g2 ot' the cylinder head to make atight joint.

It will be seen from Figs. 4 and 5 that after an abutment has retreatedinto its housing,

there will be lett exposed on the inner periphery of the cylinder thegrooves g2 g3 which the piston has to pass over. To make the piston passthese smoothly, I form the outer bearing surface oi' the piston in wedgeshape as shown at y-y in Fig. 7, so that the wide end of the wedge willfirst start to cross over the groove g2, giving a shear action insteadoi a parallel action. In like manner the end portion of the piston whichrubs against the cylinder head is made of double wedge shape, as seen inFigs. 5 and 6, at z z so as to secure the same shear movement across theend grooves g3.

I will now describe the valves in the steam chests and their action.

There are two steam chests, one X above the cylinder A, and the other Xbelow the cylinder. They are both constructed alike and have similarvalves and are designed to provide for the reversibility of the engine.Each steam chest, see Figs. 5 and 6, has two chambers u and a whichconnect with the induction and exhaust pipes and between these chambersand the ports in the periphery of the cylinder two sets ot' valves arearranged. The set p p next to the steam. chest are the working slidevalves which are opened and closed automatically to admit and exhauststeam, while the set t2 t2 which slide adjacent to p are the valveswhich provide for lead when the engine is running in either direction.The valves p have stems p Fig. 2, that extend' out through one side oithe engine, and the valve t2 have stems t t that extend out through theopposite side of the engine and they are each provided with means fortheir operation as follows. The valves p p, Fig. 951, are plates havingsquare openings through them which are attached to and operated togetheras .one b-y the branched ends of rod p. This rod, see Fig. 2, .extendsoutside the steam chest to the guide frame Gin which it slides. The rodp bears on its end an inwardly projecting arm having two frictionrollers p2 p2whiche`mbrace one .of two cam flanges lf k formed on theperiphery of a hub E secured rigidly to the shaftwC. As the hub Erotates with the shaft its cam flange 7c lor k reciprocates the valvestem p and the induction and exhaust valves. The cam flanges 7c 7c onthe hub E1 have a differ: ent pitch for a different time action, and inreverse running the rollers p2 p2 are adjusted to the other cam flange,for which purpose the hub E is made adjustable on the yshaft by means ofa set lscrew as seen in Fig. 2. The

valves t2 t2, Figs. 2, 9b and 5 are the lead valves which enable thesteam to enter sooner than they otherwise would .and their open,- ingsare made longer than the openings in the valves p. These lead valveshave stems ,t above or t below which have slotted ends carrying frictionrollers c s, Fig. 9, *between which is arranged the vertically slidingad.-y j usting bars 1" r. These bars, see Figs. l and 3, are arrangedvertically on opposite sides of the main shaft C to slide in suitableguides r2 112 and the upper ends of these bars r1" are connected to theopposite arms of a double elbow lever g which latter has a locking boltadapted to engage a curved and notched seg.- ment g to hold the lever toits adjustment. When this lever is adjusted to one side it l throws oneadjusting bar rdown and the'other one r up and those bars having offsetsor.

bends in 4them where they pass between the rollers s s of the valvestems t t', as seen in Fig. 2, it will be understood that the leadvalves f2, Figs. 9, 9u, 9*?, are slid longitudinally and horizontallybetween the working valves and the ports of the cylinder to cause steamto be admitted sooner, or with the requisite lead.

, As a modification ofthe cut-.off flanges 7c k on the hub E l mayemploy the cut-off mechanism shown in Fig. 10 which is applicable forreversing with simpler and easier adjustment.

ln Fig. l0, C is the main shaft on which is a rotary adjustable hub E2having a cam groove k2 which acts upon and rec-iprocates the member Phaving a drag connection with the valve rod p as hereafter described.Be.- side the loose hub E2 is a disk Ev3 rigid on the shaft C. A springseated and grooved collar C2 is embraced by the fork of a lever C3 andsaid collar has ltwo clutch pins c2 c2 which pass through holes in thedisk E3 and enter seats in the side of the loose cam hub E2, locking it`so that it turns with the shaft. As this huh 'tnrnsits .cani groove k3imparts a ref ciprocating movement to the member P w ose stem slidestelescopically into the tu,- bular end of the valve stern p, the latterb.e. ing enlarged and chambered to receive the stem ofmember P. On thehollow end of-valve stem p is attached a spring hook P? whose hookedyend is normally forced through a slot in the tubular end of the valvestem and is adapted to engage a notch n2 in the shank of the me-mber P.P2 is a stationary trip plate whose inclined foot is in the path of thehook P3 as the latter approaches it. When the cam groove forces themember P to the right, asat the top .of l0, the member P slidestelescopically in the `tubul ar end of rod p until it'takes up againsttheend of the tube and then the two parts move together in thedirec-tion of the arrow at the to of Fig. 10.l In this position the hookP3 has c ropped into the notch n2 of member P. N ow when the cam groovedraws the member P out again, the la-tter drags the valve rod p with ituntil the hook P3 strikes the inclined foot of the trip plate P2, as atthe bottom .of Fig. 10, and then this contact throws the cam hook P3 outof notch e2 of member P and the latter is free to move out farther. ltwill thus be seen that Vthe members P and p have an initial movementtogether in outward direction followed by a disconnection and anindependent drag action and ,on the inward movement the member P has aninitial independent movement followed by a movement together forV thelast part of the stroke. When the engine is to be reversed the cam hubE2'is unlocked and turned halfway around and again locked to the shaft.This is accomplished by a lever C3 having a spring bolt engaging anotched arch bar C4. 'By unlocking this lever and throwing it to theleft the grooved collar C2 compresses the springs behind it andwithdraws the locking pins .c2 from the hub E2 and the latter may thenbe turned a half revolution byhand and be afterward rigidly locked tothe shaft again.

l have already referred to the air valves c c in Fig. 2. These consistof valve chambers having outlets to the air, which are normally closedby screw valves as shown on the right j of Fig. 2. lf the rotary Aengineis employed on a locomotive these valves allow the engine to form a,brake in going down hill, for by opening more or less the valve cleading to what is now the suction side of the piston, air

is sucked in through this valve c to produce a retarding effect and is.expelled through the valve 7i which is partly closed to produce achoking effect.

The operation of my engine is as follows, referring to Figs. 2, 5 and 6.Steam is passing through pipes H and l2, Fig. 2, and through by-pass l',Fig. 6, and is .en-tering the cylinder between the lower abutment M andthe piston L forcing the same around in the direction of the arrow,while y.the 4enhai-ist steam is passing out thrpugh the valve chestchamber u at the top. Just as piston L' nears the top abutment thelatter moves out of the way and after the piston passes it, saidabutment is again pushed across behind the piston and live steam thenenters through the chamber u of the top valve chest and the steam infront of the piston is exhausted through the chamber u of the bottomvalve chest. To reverse the engine the valve N, Fig. 2, is turned to outout ports n n( and connect 0 o with the pipes. Cam hub E is shifted onthe shaft to bring the cam flange 71" between the rollers p2 p2 and thelead valves t2 t2 are shifted through the lever g to change the timingof the lead.

Among the various features of my invention l wish to call attention tothe fact that there is a continuous entry of steam at all times nomatter in which direction the engine is running. This is obtained by thearrangement and adjustment of the valves in connection with the cut-off`operated by the cam wheel. The abutments are so arranged also that whenthey enter the annular chamber of the cylinder the ressure of live steamis equal on both sides o said abutments and so also in leaving theannular chamber the pressure of exhaust steam is the same on oppositesides of the abutment. This balancing of pressure on opposite sides ofthe abutments at the time of their entry and retreat avoids the lateralstrain and frictional resistance which the abutments would otherwisehave to encounter'. f

1 claiml. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder having diametricallyarranged side pockets, two diametrically arranged abutments, a rotatingshaft with a revolving piston,a cam hub fixed to the shaft and having aperiphl eral cam and two slide rods arranged parallel to the shaft andhaving one end attachedto the abutments and the other end operated uponby the peripheral cam, automatically working slide valves and manuallyoperated lead valves, both arranged to slide parallel to the main shaft.A. 2. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder having diametricallyarranged side pockets, two diametrically arranged abutments, a rotatingshaft with a revolving piston, a cam hub 'fixed to the shaft and havinga peripheral cam and two slide rods arranged parallel to the shaft andhaving one end attached to the abutments and the other end l operatedupon by the peripheral cam, auto matically working slide valve Aandmanually operated lead valves, both arranged to slide parallel to themain shaft, the working and l lead valves being extended outwardly fromthe cylinder inopposite directions. Y

3. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder having diametrically arrangedside pockets, 1 two diametrically arranged abutments, a l

rotating shaft with a revolving piston, a cam hub iixed to the shaft andhaving a peripheral cam and two slide rods arranged parallel to theshaft and having one end attached to the abutments and the other endoperated upon by the peri heral cam, automatically working slide va veand manually operated lead valves, both arranged to slide arallel to themain shaft, the working and ead valves being extended outwardly from thecylinder in opposite directions, a revolving collar on the main shafthaving peri heral cam operating the slide valves anc a lead valveadjusting bar arranged at right angles thereto and means for giving it alongitudinal movement.

4.. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder having diametrically arrangedside pockets, two diametrically arranged abutments, a rotating shaftwith a revolving piston, a cam hub fixed to the shaft and having aperipheral cam and two slide rods arranged par allel tothe shaft andhaving one end attached to the abutment and the other end operated uponby the peripheral cam, two diametrically arranged valve chests, eachhaving an automatically working slide valve and manually operated leadvalves arranged to move parallel to the main shaft.

5. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder having diametrically arrangedside pockets, two diametrically arranged abutments, a rotating shaftwith a revolving piston, a cam hub fixed to the shaft and having aperipheral cam and two slide rods arranged parallel to the shaft andhaving one end attached to the abutments and the other end operated uponby the peripheral cam, two diametrically arranged valve chests, eachhaving automatically working slide valves and manually operated leadvalves, both arranged to slide parallel to the main shaft, the workingand lead valves being extended outwardly from the cylinder in oppositedirections and means for operating the same.

6. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder having diametrically arrangedside pockets, two diametrically arranged abutments, a rotating shaftwith a revolving piston, a cam hub 'fixed to the shaft and having aperipheral cam and two slide rods arranged parallel to the shaft andhaving one end attached to the abutments and the other end operated uponby the peripheral cam, slide valves having stems arranged parallel tothe main shaft outside of the abutment rods and having inwardlyprojecting arms, a guide frame for the same and a second adjustable lcam collar on the main shaft having two peripheral cams arranged toalternately act upon the said arms to actuate the slide valves.

7. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder, a shaft with revolving piston,side steping abutments, two valve chests arrange diametrically oppositeeach other and each having two chambers, double slide valves and doublelead valves arranged between the steam chests and cylinder and means foroperating the same.

8. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder, a shaft with revolving piston,side ste ping abutments, two valve chests arrange diametrically oppositeeach other and each having two chambers, double slide valves for eachchest having a single stem, and a cam collar on the main shaft foroperating them.

9. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder, a shaft with revolving piston,side stepping abutments, two valve chests arranged diametricallyopposite each other and each having two chambers, double slide valvesfor each chest having a single stem, a cam collar on the main shaft foroperating them, two lead valves arranged adjacent to the slide valve andhaving friction rollers at their ends, two curved and longitudinallyadjustable bars arranged between the friction rollers of the lead valvesand a lever arranged to adjust said bars in opposite directions.

10. A rotary engine having a casing-provided with grooves on its innerperiphery adapted to receive and hold a sliding abutment, movableabutments sliding therein and a shaft with a revolving piston saidpiston having its edges arranged at an angle to said grooves.

11. A rotary engine having a cylinder provided with grooves on its innerperiphery one of which is parallel to the axis and the other radial,sliding abutments arranged to move and be seated in said grooves, and arotating shaft having a revolving piston whose outer peripheralportionis wedge shape and whose sides are also wedge shape.

12. A rotary engine comprising a cylindrical casing, a rotating shaftwith a hub and piston, said hub being provided with locking seats ateach end, a sliding abutment having a spring seated packing bar arrangedto bear upon said hub, said packing bar being formed with lugs adaptedto drop into the seats on the hub to hold the inner edge of the abutmentagainst steam pressure and to make a tight joint. v

13. A rotary engine comprising a cylindrical casing, a rotating shaftwith a hub and piston, two sliding abutments arranged diametrically toeach other and to move parallel to the shaft, two steam chests arrangeddiametrically and having ports opening on opposite sides of each slidingabutment and two slide valves and two lead valves for each steam chest.

14. A rotary engine comprising a cylindrical casing, a rotating shaftwith a hub and piston, two sliding abutments arranged diametrically toeach other and to move parallel to the shaft, two steam chests arrangeddiametrically and having ports oppning on opposite sides of each slidinga utment and two slide valves and two lead valves for each steam chest,and semi-circular bypass pipes connecting the similar ports of theopposite steam chests.

` 15. A rotary engine comprising a cylindrical casing, a rotating shaftwith a hub and piston, two sliding abutments arranged diametrically toeach other and to move parallel to the shaft, two steam chests arrangeddiametrically and having ports opening on opposite sides of each slidingabutment and two slide valves and-two lead valves for each steam chest,and semi-circular by-pass pipes connecting the similar ports of theopposite steam chests, and two parallel pipes for live and exhaust steamand a reversing valve connecting with the same to reverse the course ofthe steam.

16. A rotary engine comprising a casing, a revolving shaft with pistonattached, two oppositely arranged abutments with means for sliding themparallel to the shaft, two opposite steam chests each having inlet andexhaust valves and means for timing the action of the valves and theabutments in relation to each other to maintain equal pressure uponopposite sides of each abutment during the time of its movement, intothe annular chamber, and approximately equal pressure on each side ofeach sliding abutment during its retreat from its position within theannular chamber.

17. A rotary engine having an induction steam pipe and an eduction steampipe, an annular chamber, a valve in the induction pipe for permittingthe entrance of air, a choke valve in the eduction ipe, and means forproducing a braking e 'ect by the admission of air into the annularchamber.

18. A rotary lengine having an induction and exhaust steam pipe, areversing valve connecting with the same and a valve in each pipearranged to open to the air to admit air to bev drawn in through onepipe and be exhausted through the other.

19. A rotary engine having an induction steam pipe, an eduction steampipe, an annular chamber, a valve in the induction pipe, means foroperating said valve when the steamis shut olf, a choke valve in the vJOSEPH JUNIUS TANNER.

l/Vitnesses:

EDwD. W. BYRN, SoLoN C. KEMON.

